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Court appearance following dog attack

One of the dogs is believed to have been a Staffordshire Bull Terrier Photo: PA

A 21-year-old man has been charged following a dog attack which left 10 people needing hospital treatment.

Spencer Brown, 21, of Marline Road, St Leonards, Hastings, East Sussex, is charged with six counts of owning a dog dangerously out of control in a public place in Marline Road on July 22.

He is also charged with possession of cannabis on the same day and owning a dog dangerously out of control in a private place on May 16.

He is set to appear at Hastings Magistrates' Court later today.

Another man, aged 22, who was arrested at the scene on Sunday has been released without a charge.

Police attended Marline Road in St Leonards at around 8.55pm following a report that two dogs had escaped into the street and several people had been attacked.

When officers arrived, one of the dogs had already been detained by members of the public in a dog crate.

The second dog was contained by a dog unit, assisted by other police officers at the scene, in a garden, allowing South East Coast Ambulance Service to treat those who had been injured.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "Ten local people, none of whom are children, sustained a range of serious but not life- threatening bites, cuts and scratches caused in the attacks in the street and were treated at the Conquest Hospital.

"None have been detained at hospital but three of the 10, a woman and two men, have been referred for outpatient treatment at the Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead.

"The two dogs have been taken to secure kennels in the South East. The police will be seeking a destruction order for the dogs to be destroyed."

One of the dogs is believed to have been a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, the other a Pit Bull Terrier Cross.

Chief Inspector Heather Keating said: "This was an incredibly distressing incident for everyone involved and quick work from members of the public and officers at the scene meant that the incident was quickly brought under control.

"Firearms officers were deployed to the incident but they were stood down when it became clear that the unarmed officers were able to get the dogs under control safely."